This invention relates to gutter systems for houses, and more particularly to an apparatus for protecting a gutter while providing support for a ladder.
Numerous drain systems for roofs have been provided in the prior art that include gutters that catch rainwater from roofs and carry it to leaders extending to the ground. Most houses built in the United States today include gutters which are secured to the fascia board of a house structure, just below the roof line. These gutters are necessary to protect siding or paint on the house front, back and side structures from damage from rain, snow and the like by catching the rain, snow and the like and causing it to flow to down spouts and away from the house structures with minimal contact with the house structures.
The construction of gutters and the placement thereof against the fascia board of a structure is well known in the art. The gutters are generally made of a thin sheet of aluminum, vinyl, plastic or wood, which are light in weight. The presence of thin aluminum or plastic gutters along the fascia board of a structure is a source of difficulty when one needs to access the roof or upper portion of the structure. Usually, a ladder is placed and supported against the structure, and the worker or home owner climbs the ladder to access, for example, the roof. However, since the gutters must stick out beyond the lower roof line to be effective in trapping rain and the like, the ladder must be placed against the gutters. The thin gutters of modern construction cannot withstand much pressure before bending. When a ladder is placed against the front of a gutter it will tend to crush the gutter and slide along it. This often results in a structure""s gutter having to be replaced, although the initial work task had nothing to do with the gutters. Regardless of the method used in attaching a gutter to a building, e.g., hangers, straps, spikes, ferrules, etc., the gutter is very susceptible to scratching, denting, and crushing from prolonged ladder contact or from a weight overload from a ladder.
One of the common attempts to avoid gutter problems is the use of double-pronged ladder stabilizers. One of the real limitations with ladder stabilizers is that they are not very strong. Ladder stabilizers also tend to become unsquare with the ladder until a ladder""s upper portion inside edges crushes the gutter, roof edge and flashing. Ladder stabilizers are especially a problem for ladder staging. Since stabilizers are firmly secured to the ladder, they need to be adjusted frequently and mechanically in relationship to where they would rest on the building for proper ladder staging bracket and plank placement. Furthermore, the ladder cannot be set under the eave since the projection of eave and gutter is almost equal to the width of the staging plank, thus providing minimal work space and a dangerous environment for a staging worker. Fastening any material to the eaves to prevent gutter damage only causes the need for repairs of another kind.
The present invention provides an apparatus for protecting a gutter while at the same time providing support for a ladder placed against the gutter. The present invention supports the weight of ladders, ladder brackets, staging planks, material and men by diffusing weight around a gutter directly to the fascia.
The present invention accomplishes this by providing a U-shaped channel member fitted horizontally over the gutter, with each protruding channel member engaging the fascia board to which the gutter is attached. Ladder legs rest against the channel member between invention brackets. A strap attached to the channel member is adapted to engage a ladder rung with the gutter, thereby holding the ladder in engagement with the channel member and further preventing the ladder from sliding laterally or diagonal movement, i.e., ladder bottom kick out. The present invention also provides a means for speedy set up of ladder and staging.
These together with other objects of the invention, along with various features of novelty which characterize the invention, are pointed out with particularity in the claims annexed hereto and forming a part of this disclosure. For a better understanding of the invention, its operating advantages and the specific objects attained by its uses, reference should be had to the accompanying drawings and descriptive matter in which there is illustrated a preferred embodiment of the invention.